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I just read a wonderful book entitled The Present by Spencer Johnson, author of the famous business motivation book, Who Moved My Cheese?

I managed to read The Present from front to back cover in less than one hour without skipping any pages– not because I’m a quick reader, but because it’s only 109 pages long, printed in large fonts.

Besides, I am very familiar with the subject matter. The book focuses on a single message– to live in the Present moment to become more successful at work and in life.

My only complaint about the book is how anyone could write an entire book on mindfulness and living in the present moment without once making a reference to Buddhism. While it’s true that mindfulness is a universal concept not confined to Buddhism, no other system of thought provides a more thorough and deeper treatment of the subject matter.

In fact, many Western self-help books, whether or not they give credit to Buddhism, draw heavily from the teachings of the Buddha. Stories are weaved around Buddhist principles and told by experts in various fields to cash in on the multi-billion-dollar self-help industry.

The Present is something that I could have written myself. In fact, I was half-way finished on a book on the same subject but decided to put the project on hold indefinitely as I became mindful of the fact that I’d have to not only write the book, but also play the roles of the publisher, marketer, and distributor for my work. Although I could fulfill these roles, I just couldn’t find the time to do all these things while keeping my day job to pay the bills.

I think the difference between successful self-help gurus who make millions writing books and would-be self-help gurus like you and me is not so much the talent, knowledge or experience, or that the professional gurus are somehow more adept at managing their own lives. If that were the case, then some of the most successful authors of self-help books on relationship wouldn’t have experienced multiple divorces themselves. The difference, in my view, is having the right set of circumstances (connections, resources, etc.) to ensure commercial success.

At any rate, reading these self-help books can prove very productive as they encourage readers to know more about themselves and to make the necessary changes in their lives to become happier, wealthier, more attractive to the opposite sex, and whatever.

Better yet, they can even pave the way to Buddhism.

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Hi Everyone,

You’re probably aware of the terrible cyclone that hit Myanmar (Burma) last week. The natural disaster has so far killed over 22,000 people. Over 40,000 people are still missing. Experts estimate that the actual death toll could top 100,000.

Like Cambodia, Burma is an impoverished Buddhist Southeast Asian country unable to cope with this type of catastrophe on its own.

As kind-hearted, compassionate individuals, we can’t put the whole world on our shoulders…and we don’t have to. Any amount you can donate to this terrible tragedy will help make a difference.

Here are a couple of links you can use to make online donations to international relief efforts in Burma.

1. UNICEF website

2. Donate to UNICEF or Direct Relief via Google Checkout (easier)

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